Source: Boxed Lunch Finance

Maybe we've all underestimated OpenAI and chatGPT.

Since ChatGPT was launched and became popular in November last year, people seem to be most concerned about: where can this powerful chatbot or the GPT model behind it be used?

Microsoft is the fighter at the forefront. Putting ChatGPT into Bing Search would compete with Google; integrating GPT-4 into Microsoft 365 would disrupt the office suite; sending ChatGPT “to the cloud” to “send warmth” to enterprise-level customers. Not to mention all kinds of technology companies that apply GPT to dating apps, content platforms, code forums, etc.

ChatGPT is like a magic wand, where you need to click where.

However, the latest news released by OpenAI has brought about a completely different game trend: who can use ChatGPT?

On Thursday, March 23, local time, OpenAI announced that it has begun introducing plug-ins for ChatGPT.

In a blog post, OpenAI stated that these plug-ins are “tools designed specifically for language models, with security as the core principle, to help ChatGPT access the latest information, run computations, or use third-party services.”

Just the day before, Nvidia CEO Hwang In-hoon said at the developer conference that “the iPhone time for AI has arrived”. He is in a broader perspective: “Start-ups compete to build disruptive products and business models, while established companies are seeking ways to cope. Generative AI has triggered a sense of urgency for global companies to formulate AI strategies.”

Now, OpenAI starts the “iPhone moment” in a more intuitive way. What should I call a ChatGPT that can be connected to various plug-ins? platform? operating system? Anyway, it's not just a chatbot anymore.

What's so remarkable about introducing plug-ins?

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman (Sam Altman) shared the news on Twitter: “We are starting to roll out the ChatGPT plugin. You can install plug-ins to help with a wide variety of tasks. We're excited to see what the developers create!”

OpenAI itself provides two first-party plug-ins. One is a web browsing plug-in and the other is a code execution plug-in.

Among them, the web browsing plug-in will break ChatGPT's time seal. In the past, knowledge of ChatGPT was limited to before September 2021. With this plugin, ChatGPT will be able to extract data from all over the web to answer all kinds of questions. The plugin uses the Bing Search API to retrieve content from the Internet and display any websites it has visited, giving the source of information in ChatGPT's response.

The code execution plug-in, on the other hand, provides ChatGPT with a Python interpreter that runs in disk space. It supports uploading files to ChatGPT and downloading results. OpenAI said the plugin is particularly useful for data analysis and visualization and for converting files between different formats.

The entire plug-in program is still in the testing stage. The first batch of plug-ins was developed by partners invited by OpenAI, including Shopify, Slack, and the travel platform Expedia, fresh e-commerce Instacart, travel search engine service provider Kayak, the online restaurant reservation service platform OpenTable, and the automation platform Zapier.

“The artificial intelligence model acts as a smart API call program. Given an API specification and a natural language description of when to use the API, the model actively calls that API to perform the action.” OpenAI wrote. “For example, if a user asks 'where should I spend a few nights in Paris', the model can choose to call the API of the hotel reservation plug-in, receive the response from the API, and combine the API data with its natural language features to generate an answer for the user.”

According to Expedia, their new plugin streamlines travel plans for ChatGPT users. “So far, ChatGPT can determine what to do and where to stay, but it's not helping travelers shop and book,” a press spokesperson said in an email.

With the help of plug-ins, ChatGPT can not only give users answers and suggestions, but also “do the work” for them.

For example, the Instacart plugin allows ChatGPT to place orders from local stores. By far, Zapier is the most scalable app, connecting with apps like Google Sheets, Trello, and Gmail to trigger a range of productivity tasks.

Is OpenAI moving towards creating an ecosystem?

OpenAI said developers can join the waiting list and plan to further expand access to the plugin “over time.”

In 2007, Steven Jobs (Steven Jobs) published an open letter stating that a software development kit for the iPhone and iPod Touch system would be launched the following year, allowing third parties to develop software for them.

That was an epoch-making decision. The Apple App Store has revolutionized the mobile internet industry by allowing third-party software to flourish on its devices.

“OpenAI sees ChatGPT as a platform.”Marco Mascorro (Marco Mascorro), founder of Fellow AI, said on Twitter.

Another Twitter user following the AI sector said, “I think ChatGPT's introduction of plug-ins is a threat to the Apple App Store. It has created a new platform with a new way to monetize.”

Also, people who have read the plug-in documentation provided by OpenAI have found that the process of applying to OpenAI is very simple: you only need to define the API, describe in a few sentences what the API wants and how you want to do it, and then chtgpt will figure out how to call the API under what circumstances.

“Explain to everyone who doesn't understand: you write an OpenAI checklist for your API, describe everything in human language, that's all. You let the models figure out how to do authentication, data processing, etc.” One person who claims he has “made countless plug-ins” called ChatGPT's plugin the “craziest” he's ever seen.

As a user, I am also very excited to see this news. People are making wishes online, and people who have already used ChatGPT immediately understood its great potential. A Twitter user said, “It would be cool to have an automated editing software. Imagine (using ChatGPT this way): pick a pop song, add it to this video, and edit it to keep only the most engaging parts.”

Another person directly @OpenAI expressed the hope that there would be a “Files” plugin for ChatGPT to help organize computer files.

But concerns have also followed. OpenAI acknowledges that a network-enabled ChatGPT may perform bad tasks such as sending fraud and spam, and circumventing security restrictions. However, the company also said that the company has “implemented several safety measures” to prevent this from happening.

In a blog post, OpenAI wrote, “We still have a lot to learn, and with everyone's help, we want to build something that's both useful and safe.”

OpenAI may have a lot to learn, but right now, let alone say, OpenAI still has a lot to disrupt. Just as one netizen lamented: No amount of science fiction works is enough to prepare us for this kind of moment.

Editor/Somer